Debenhams, which is Britain’s second largest department store after John Lewis, today brought some much-needed good news to the retail sector after reporting an increase in second half-sales. The retailing giant said sales at stores open more than a year, excluding VAT sales tax, were 1.5% higher in the 17 weeks to June 25. It [...]
British retailing giant Marks & Spencer (M&S) has today reported a 13% rise in annual profits to £714.3 million. Meanwhile, international sales grew 6.1%, while sales in the online operation rose 31%. However, despite the positive figures, the 127-year-old retailer which sells clothes, food and homewares, said the coming year will be challenging due to [...]
Property website, Rightmove, has today reported a rise in asking prices for the month of April – the fourth consecutive month of growth. According to Rightmove, asking prices for residential property in England and Wales grew 0.9% on an annual basis. The property website, which claims to advertise 90% of the properties on the market, [...]
Britain’s largest mutually-owned retailer, the Co-operative Group, has today posted “record” results for the 2010 year. The group said underlying operating profits before significant items surged 48% to £545.7 million compared with £367.9 million the year before. Group sales were 10% higher at £13.7 billion. Earnings at the group have been boosted by its acquisition [...]
Housebuilder Bovis Homes issued a positive statement today after saying 2011 had started well for the company and it will resume dividend payments. According to the company, pre-tax profits for 2010 were £18.5 million - more than double the £7.5 million it reported for the 2009 year. Revenues were up 6% at £298.6 million and [...]
Taylor Wimpey, which was formed by the merger of Taylor Woodrow and George Wimpey, today said it had returned to profitability but remains cautious. The housebuilder, which is the country’s third largest by value, said pre-tax profit before exceptional items came in at £75.1 million for the 2010 year - against a loss of £96.1 [...]
Swiss banking giant has posted its first annual profit since 2006. The bank, which is Switzerland’s largest, has today reported a net profit of SwFr7.2 billion (£4.7 billion) for the 2010 year - this compares with a loss of SwFr2.7 billion in 2009. However, the bank still has a long way to go after full-year [...]
A survey by the Engineering Employers’ Federation (EEF), the manufacturers’ trade body, has revealed manufacturing output continues to operate at record levels, however, they are cautious about next year‘s prospects. The survey revealed a balance of 33% of firms reported an increase in output in the fourth quarter, unchanged from the previous quarter - which [...]
Eurostat has today revealed a rise in euro zone retail sales for the month of October, after two months of declines. Retail sales grew 0.5% in October on the month and were 1.8% higher on an annual basis, according to the European statistics office. The increase also beat analysts’ expectations of a 0.2% rise. Europe’s [...]
Influential think tank, the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR), is urging the Bank of England to be cautious when considering its next move for the UK economy. Speculation is mounting that the Bank of England will pump a further £50 billion into the economy next month via its quantitative easing (QE) programme. [...]
British retailing giant, Marks and Spencer (M&S), has today reported a rise in UK like-for-like sales of 5.3% in the 13 weeks to October 2. Furthermore, the 126-year-old retailer which sells clothes, food and homewares, said total sales across the group grew by 6.5%, with international sales 6.2% higher. Chief executive, Marc Bolland who joined [...]
Supermarket giant Asda has today announced like-for-like sales (excluding fuel) declined by 0.4% in the second quarter. The fall was attributed to the tough austerity measures introduced by the Government, which has hit consumers, according to Asda. “Asda’s customers are facing recently announced tax increases and cuts in Government spending,” it said in a statement. [...]
Despite the doom and gloom surrounding the housing market currently, there is some positive news from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). According to the CML, 52,000 new loans were granted to home buyers in June - 19% higher than in May and up 14% on June 2009. CML economist Paul Samter points out that [...]
Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has today announced second quarter profits almost doubled after completing its restructuring programme ahead of schedule. Shell posted profits of $4.5 billion (£2.9 billion) - a rise of 94% on the $2.3 billion reported a year ago. The Anglo-Dutch firm, which is Britain’s second largest oil company, has undergone a [...]
Figures today revealed South Korea’s economy grew by 1.5% in the second quarter compared with the first quarter - much faster than economists had expected. On an annual basis, the economy expanded by 7.2% and, according to the central bank, growth has returned to the pre-crisis level. According to economists, the level of growth could [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today announced a rise in UK retail sales for the month of June - exceeding market forecasts. According to the ONS, the value of UK retail sales grew 0.7% in June compared with May, boosted by sales of electrical goods, such as televisions for the World Cup. Excluding [...]
Online search giant Yahoo has published its second quarter results which disappointed the market, sending its shares diving more than 7%. Profits at the company grew by more than 50% in the quarter, but net revenues missed expectations. Revenue in the three months ending June 30 totalled $1.6 billion (£1.05 billion), compared with $1.57 billion [...]
European equities markets were higher Tuesday as banks came back from big declines on Monday, helped by a statement from Societe Generale’s (Euronext: GLE) CEO that his bank is healthy. The FTSE 100 was up 0.87 percent to 5,174.25 in London, while the FTSE 250 added 0.27 percent to 10,011, with banks the best performers [...]
Rics: Housing market remains in the doldrums
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has today reported that the UK housing market remained weak in August with house prices falling further. According to the Institution, homeowners remain reluctant to put their properties up for sale, while buyers continue to struggle to secure a mortgage and remain uncertain about the economic climate. The [...]
CML: Mortgage lending edges higher in July
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported the number of loans for house purchase rose in July. According to the Council, there were 48,400 loans advanced for house purchase in the month – up by 1,000 from June’s figure but almost 7,000 lower when compared with July 2010. Commenting on today’s figures, Paul Smee, [...]
UK inflation edges higher in August
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today announced Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) rose to annual rate of 4.5% last month from July’s rate of 4.4%. However, the figure was in line with analysts’ expectations. Higher inflation continues to be led by rising food costs but the main reason behind last month’s rise was a 5.1% [...]
Fresnillo down on silver prices
European equities markets were lower Monday on the possibility that Greece could default soon and on speculation that Moody’s Investors Service could cut its rating on several big banks with holdings tied to Greece. The FTSE 100 was down 1.63 percent to 5,129.62 in London, while the FTSE 250 dropped 1.65 percent to 9,983.75 as [...]
IFS warns of tough times for UK households
A report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned that households will be squeezed for the next decade as they suffer from the harsh spending cuts introduced by the Government. It said households are suffering one of the worst attacks on their finances since the Second World War and that the impact of [...]
ICB final report recommends ring-fencing
The Independent Commission on Banking’s (ICB) final report has been published today and is recommending that UK banks should ring-fence their retail banking operations. According to the report, ring-fencing would protect banks from riskier investment banking divisions and would “make it easier and less costly to resolve banks that get into trouble”. The ICB, which [...]
Tullow Oil leads 100 in London
European equities markets were significantly lower Friday on an increased possibility that Greece could default on its debt as soon as this weekend, raising the concern level over the European region’s debt problems and ratcheting up worries that the economic recovery is faltering. Additionally, markets reacted to the resignation of European Central Bank board member [...]
SMMT: UK car sales rise in August
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have revealed UK car sales saw their first rise in 14 months in August. According to the trade body, car sales rose by 7.3% in August compared with the same month in 2010, with sales of smaller cars rising by more than 30%. The Ford Fiesta remained [...]
Factory gate inflation higher than expected in August
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK producer output prices held steady in August – remaining at the highest annual rate since October 2008. According to the ONS, output prices (factory gate) annual inflation for all manufactured products held steady at July’s upwardly revised reading of 6.1% in August. The figures were [...]
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